Federer's Movement....could be better?

It's kind of amazing that I'm actually making this thread considering the fact that Federer just won this year's first slam. I honestly only saw Federer play the final match and was unable to see most of his other matches being that they were at odd times.

Now we all know Federer had a serious ankle injury a months back and obviously it'll take him some time to fully gain the strength in the ankle. But watching his final match vs Baghdatis, it just seemed to me that his movement wasn't where it was in his prime year (2004). He's still relatively quick in his movements. However when he's stretched off the court...he didn't appear to have that real burst that made him the best mover in the game. Now obviously, Federer is such a well-rounded talent that he can mask any temporary deficiencies that he has currently. However, there's no doubt that he was a bit more vulnerable in this slam. He had tough matches against Davydenko, Kiefer, and Baghdatis. What do you guys think? Am I knit-picking here? Federer has admitted that his conditioning still needs work.

a classic example of what your saying was when Baghdatis gave him a nice juicy lob to smash, and instead of smashing it, he ran back to catch it.
He normally would have taken that smash on the full.
Does anybody remember this point?

He's not moving as well. It probably is the ankle. But he's a good 85%. He'll need to be 100% by the French if he can win it. There's lots of drop shots, sliding into balls, long points, etc. At 24, he should still be as quick as ever if he's healthy. He should lessen his schedule just a bit to be physically as prepared as he can. I'd love to see him with the French.

If he does, I think he'll win the slam. And I think he will beat Sampras' mark. Right now, I see him getting to 11 or 12, but not sure about 14 or 15. If he wins the French and overcomes that hurdle, I see him doing it for sure.

He's going to really need that extra step in the upcoming tournaments. Obviously on clay his ankle will really be tested with the long points which will require lots of sliding and changing directions. Then obviously with Wimbledon, his quickness will be absolutely necessary being that the surface is much faster. I think the Australian Open surface was ideal for his current condition.

I asked this very question in another thread - and I totally agree. Federer definitely seemed to be slower than in previous slams (and prior to the injury). I thought this was most evident in his up and back movement though, as he missed lot's of volleys and overheads, all "bad" errors and very unlike him.

Well, his ankle is probably healed 100 percent. However, anyone who's experienced a serious ankle sprain knows that the recovery can be a long process. First and foremost, the ankle's flexibility and range of motion is often not good, and that needs to be rehabbed. In addition, the atrophy and loss of balance must be recovered. Obviously, he's well enough to play in these long matches. I think it'll just take some time to regain his top form. It might take him a few more months. It's not something that is regained overnight.

His footwork for Backhand needs "improvement": in AO, he was frequently taking too big lazy steps instead of relatively small quick steps. Not sure his physically 100% or he was just sloppy and lazy with footwork? Roche should remind him doing something about it.

anybody that has had any degree of an ankle type injury fully knows that you never really recover from it.
Your mobility is from that point onwards a fraction of what it was before the injury.

Federer is a great at the moment but i don't think he'll catch and overtake the 14 slams of Sampras.
11 or 12 Slams sounds more realistic.
20 yr olds are already coming up that will continue to pressure Federer.
He has at best 3 more good years, which would make him one of the greats, no doubt.

anybody that has had any degree of an ankle type injury fully knows that you never really recover from it.
Your mobility is from that point onwards a fraction of what it was before the injury.

Federer is a great at the moment but i don't think he'll catch and overtake the 14 slams of Sampras.
11 or 12 Slams sounds more realistic.
20 yr olds are already coming up that will continue to pressure Federer.
He has at best 3 more good years, which would make him one of the greats, no doubt.

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I wouldn't go that far. Athletes these days can come back from pretty servere injuries and come back at a similar level...ACL tears, etc. Obviously, Federer's movement is currently not the best. However, he's still very young and the injury wasn't extremely severe. He should be able to make a full recovery. However, if it's not fully healed....playing on it definitely won't help the healing process.